C275

At dawn, a group of thousands of people appeared at the Willow Ferry, scaring away the countless water birds and wild beasts that were leisurely foraging for food. They were haggard and tottering, their clothes and shoes covered in blood and dust. Seeing that a river appeared in front of them, many people let out hoarse cheers. However, no one dared to break away from the group and rush to the water's edge. Instead, they all looked towards the 'Lu' sign in the middle of the group.

Under the banner, the normally handsome Lv Bu had also changed greatly. His eyes were tired and lifeless, his helmet had been lost somewhere, and his hair that was covered with blood and sweat had formed a little braid, falling onto his face that was covered in blood and dust. The filthy clothes seemed as if they had been torn apart and soaked in blood, turning into a large piece of purplish black blood-colored cloth. Even the solid armor was riddled with cracks. One could imagine just how heavy the injuries on his body were.

Chen Gong saw the soldiers looking over eagerly, but Lv Bu did not express anything. He could not help but ask softly: Master, do you want us brothers to drink water on the spot?

"Hmm?" Lv Bu suddenly woke up from his deep thoughts, nodded his head and replied with an incomparably hoarse voice: "Alright! "Cough! Cough!"

Chen Gong immediately raised his right hand and waved at the river in front of him.

The soldiers of Bingzhou Army all cheered and rushed into the cool river like a swarm of bees.

With much difficulty, Lv Bu alighted his warhorse. After looking around, his gaze landed on a wooden bridge over one mile away. He coughed and asked: "Mr. Gong Tai, where is this place?"

Lv Bu and Yuan Shu could catch up at any time, and if they were to be bitten by the other party, it was very possible that Bingzhou Army would be completely annihilated.

"Master, drink some water first!" Chen Gong took the two water sachets that had just filled with water from his personal guards and passed them over to Lv Bu and Zhang Liao before replying, "This place is the border between Qiao County and himself. After crossing the wooden bridge, we will reach the Xiao Pei after walking another fifty to sixty kilometers north."

fifty to sixty kilometers, which meant that he would be able to return to the Xiao Pei by tomorrow morning at the latest! Lv Bu heaved a sigh of relief, holding his water bag, he started to drink crazily, because he was in a rush to drink it, he was choked with coughing.

Chen Gong hurriedly held Lv Bu back. In order to prevent the warriors from getting worried, he lowered his voice and asked: "Master, are you alright?"

Zhang Liao was shocked, and quickly supported Lv Bu from the other side.

Lv Bu took a few deep breaths, before gently pushing and Zhang Liao away, and said solemnly: "Release me, don't make the brothers worry!" After the two of them released their hands, he said dejectedly, "My injuries are very severe! He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to recover in half a month's time! Mr. Gong Tai, do you think that Liu Bei and Yuan Shu will chase after us? "

Chen Gong pondered for a while, and said respectfully: "Master, Liu Xuande and Road Yuan are always at odds with each other, but this time they are suddenly in the same boat, their target is obviously not you, but the Marquis Jin! Subordinate believes that they will definitely head north quickly! If we can't return to Xiao Pei and reunite with them as soon as possible, they might very well block our way! Therefore, this subordinate suggests abandoning all unnecessary things and speeding up! "

Lv Bu frowned, and said with a helpless tone: "Brothers, you have all been exhausted, there were no less than a thousand people who fell behind last night, if we sped up, we would have to abandon the injured. In the end, I am afraid only about thirty percent of us will be able to return to Xiao Pei!"

Chen Gong anxiously advised: "My lord, are you not lenient enough? If we don't come to a decision as soon as possible, once Liu Bei and Yuan Shu catch up, our losses will be even more severe! "

Lv Bu said with slight anger: "Absolutely not! My brothers have followed me for many years and never had a good life, but they have never abandoned me, so how can I abandon them? Gong Tai, you are not allowed to bring up such words in the future! "

Chen Gong sighed in disappointment, but his heart was warmed. Lv Bu made a very unwise choice, but this also meant that he was very loyal to his own people, this point was worthy of his respect. However, although he admired Zhang Liao, he was still prepared to work hard. Thus, he looked at Zhang Liao, hoping that the latter would be able to persuade him.

Zhang Liao opened his mouth, but he truly did not say anything. He was a very calm person, and he knew that Chen Gong's suggestion was the best choice he could make. But to get him to abandon these brothers of the He Province who had followed him for so many years was something that he and Lv Bu could not do, and it was even more so impossible for him to help Chen Gong persuade Lv Bu.

Chen Gong said in a muffled voice: "Since Master has made up his mind, this subordinate will not say anymore! "Please clean up the wounds on your body as soon as possible, and then bandage it with medicine!"

Lv Bu nodded his head, and said apologetically: "Gong Tai is extremely loyal to me, and I am extremely grateful, but I am truly unable to agree to that suggestion, and hope that Gong Tai will not take offense to it!"

Chen Gong cupped his hands: "Master is too serious!" Then, he turned to Zhang Liao and said: "General Zhang, please go and wash this with this lord. I need to think carefully what I should do next!"

"Thank you, Mr. Gong Tai!" Zhang Liao thanked her and slowly walked towards the river with Lv Bu.

Chen Gong yawned, walked to a big tree, leaned on it and started thinking.

An hour later, Lv Bu and Zhang Liao had cleaned up and bandaged their wounds. The soldiers of the Bingzhou Army had also eaten some leftover rations and drank a bellyful of water, barely recovering their physical strength.

Chen Gong didn't wait for Lv Bu's greeting before walking over. He cupped his hands and said: "My lord, this subordinate had thought about it carefully just now. However, Master was unable to give the order to speed up the journey, so it would be best to take a detour to the Xiao Pei. Although we will still walk for a few dozen more kilometers, there is a high chance of avoiding Liu Xuande and Road Yuan! "

Lv Bu frowned, he did not look too pleased, at the moment, he was extremely determined, he could not wait to fly back to the Xiao Pei with wings, how could he agree to take a detour?

Zhang Liao advised: "Feng Xian, why not listen to what Mr. Gong Tai has to say first before making a decision?"

Lv Bu nodded, and indicated for Chen Gong to continue.

Chen Gong looked at the warriors around him and sighed. "The soldiers are tired and hungry, even if they go directly to the north, it will be very difficult to return to the Xiao Pei within a day.

Lv Bu did not reply, he only nodded in agreement. He had thought that it would be very quick to return to Xiao Pei by tomorrow morning.

"Master," Chen Gong pointed to the west, "The Qiao County County is right over there, according to this, we will travel about twenty to thirty li. A few days ago, this subordinate accidentally found out that there were only a few hundred county soldier s guarding the city, which showed that Liu Xuande did not care about the Qiao County. If we suddenly appear under Qiao County City, with Master's illustrious reputation, Master will personally ensure that we won't recklessly kill anyone, and will not engage in battle at all. The probability of this happening is extremely high! Even if the other party dares to resist, the walls of the Qiao County are not big and we will definitely be able to attack the city easily! When that time came, he would let the soldiers have a hearty meal and leave some horses to look after the wounded. The lord would speed up his journey with only the elite soldiers. He would definitely be able to make it back by tomorrow morning! What's more, Liu Xuande and Road Yuan would never have thought that we would attack the Qiao County, and thus be able to successfully avoid their encirclement! "

"Hm." Lv Bu looked to the west. Although he could not see anything, his eyes still revealed a look of fervor. He nodded and praised, "Gong Tai's idea is not bad! Since it could let the brothers eat their fill before travelling, it could allow the wounded to temporarily have a place to rest. It could also avoid Liu Bei and Yuan Shu's attacks! What does Wen Yuan think? "

Zhang Liao pondered for a bit, then nodded his head in agreement. Right now, there was indeed no way to go all out, and Chen Gong's suggestion could be considered as the best choice. The only thing to worry about was whether or not they could successfully seize the Qiao County! However, Zhang Liao did not feel that he must snatch the Qiao County, even if there would be an intense resistance, there would definitely be villages around the city, at worst, he could just plunder some food, and let his brothers have a meal.

"Then it's settled! Wen Yuan, go and give the order! Seeing that he had reached an agreement, Lv Bu immediately gave him an order.

Zhang Liao cupped his fists and agreed, then personally went to the front of the convoy to give the order to march west.

Hearing the order, the soldiers were immediately in an uproar. The Xiao Pei was in the north, what was the west now? Immediately, many people gathered their courage to ask.

If it was in the past, not only would Zhang Liao not explain himself, he would even drag out the most violent fellows and beat them up. However, the current situation was different, he still patiently explained a few sentences, and only then did everyone's fear gradually subside.

When Chen Gong saw this scene, he shook his head. The soldiers would never question Lv Bu's orders before and would only resolutely carry it out, but now there were actually many who openly questioned it.

Lv Bu also thought about this, his face extremely ugly, and in his heart, he regretted not listening to Gongsun Xu's advice, and wanted to scheme against Liu Bei. If it wasn't so, how could he have ended up like this? But it was too late to say anything now, returning to the Xiao Pei was the most important thing! I wonder what's going on with the Xiao Pei? Did they suffer any attacks from the Xuzhou Army?

"My lord, it's time to go!" Chen Gong stepped forward and invited her back from her deep thoughts.

"Let's go!" Lv Bu climbed up the red rabbit horse and ran towards the west.

At this time, Bingzhou Army only had seven or eight thousand people left, and more than a thousand of them were severely injured, so they could only walk with the support of the others. Lv Bu and Chen Gong originally thought that they could reach Qiao County City in an hour at most, but in the end, they walked for more than four hours.

Lv Bu gazed into the distance and realized that the city gate was wide open. There were seven to eight guards outside the city gate and there were only a few tens of guards on top of the city gate.

"Wen Yuan, I will leave the matter of seizing the city gates to you! "There are still one hundred and fifty cavalrymen left, I'll give all of them to you!"

"Don't worry lord, this general will not disappoint you!" Zhang Liao led his one hundred and fifty cavalrymen, and rushed towards the city gate.